[Adam eyes her from his own seat but says nothing. He tried driving after the incident. Suffice it to say that Blue's own skill is better than his own at the moment. He nods along with her words.] I always wondered how you guys staid afloat. No offense in that, but I see how much they charge for readings. It isn't much. Or at least not enough to keep as many people as there are in that house where they are.
[Adam laughs.] Ten miles under isn't the speed limit.
[She shrugs her shoulders] Calla works for the admin offices at Aglionby, Jimi has the classes and all the seminars she does, Persephone gets some kind of stipend for grad school, Orla does the phone thing and has a data entry job she does from home too. And then the readings, which brings in a lot more than you'd think. And then I work at Nino's. It works, well enough.
[Blue scowls] The speed limit is the maximum speed you should be doing, Adam.
[Adam snickers a bit, and it turns into an actual laugh when he notices her speeding up a little, and he lets himself settle into the leisurely pace. There really isn't much anxiety here, and it makes Adam a bit happier with the knowledge.
It's some time later that they finally make it out to their destination. It's a little unassuming shop and Adam follows Blue in, almost overwhelmed by the smells coming from the place. It's as if it was dipped in every fragrant herb known to man.]
[Inside, and the familiar smells of incense and dried herbs and someone wearing too much patchouli smack Blue in the face, and she breathes deeply. She waves to the owner, then nudges Adam toward the crystal displays in the back, a huge bookcase with large examples of the crystal type, its general uses hand-printed on cards, and smaller versions in a basket nearby.]
[Adam takes it all in, and something else responds. Beneath it all the scent of mist and moss rises up, though Adam isn't sure why Cabeswater's responding to this place. He wanders from Blue and starts looking around the store. He ends up at a display full of supposedly charmed pendants and picks one up, contemplating the design found on it.
And then he understands. This isn't a place of power, per se. But the items, the energy. There's potential here.]
[She walks over to the rose quartz, the one she tended to be drawn toward. She liked pink sometimes. Adam's comment gets her looking over her shoulder at him, eyebrow up. She's forgotten her own comment about the crystals being symbolic. It takes a moment, then she nods.]
Everything is less symbolic on the ley line, I think. Energy is a physical entity here, instead of a concept like it is everywhere else.
Do you think that's why there's so many psychics in your family? A whole lot of you are born in Henrietta. Or are at least near the ley line.
[He knows its why they stay, so he doesn't ask about that. Instead he moves on from the pendants, instead grabbing the first book he comes across before heading over to where Blue is.]
Could be. But I think my mom is the first Sargent in a couple generations to be as powerful as she is. And we all know I'm something else entirely.
[She prods through the quartz, no intention of getting anything, just looking for the one that drew her the most.] What're you looking for? Made any decisions yet?
[Adam isn't even touching, his mind darting back and forth between the myriad shapes and colors laid out, each one giving off a different feeling, each one calling out to him. A part of him wants to scoop the entire shelf, because this has use. It'll be important when...when. He feels the tangle of vine and branch against his skin, and for once it isn't a comfort, or a reminder to do his job. It's something else.
Eventually he settles on what seems the strongest out of all of them calling, and at prices that aren't insane: A few smoky quartz, amethyst, jasper, tiger's eye, and clear quartz. He doesn't even know if this will help with his own problems, but they feel right. He doesn't question it.]
Everything is. [Her way of agreeing that no, it isn't.]
[She watches him, getting that other feeling from him that he gets when Cabeswater is prodding at him. He seems to be able to flit back and forth better than before. Without switchblades coming into play.] That was quick. [She pulls her phone out of her pocket] We've got another forty-five minutes before we need to head back.
So they're expecting you back tomorrow. [He nods, trying to hide the smirk. He moves on, returning to the pendants once more. The same calling out to him as before occurs, and one by one, Adam carefully chooses six from the collection. He looks at them, and then back at Blue before handing her one that's ascribed a Celtic knot.]
[She reaches over and flicks him in the chest] Shut up. [She does it with a smile on her face, though, as she goes looking at books on witchcraft herself. Names that were familiar to her for having the books on shelves at home, and then Neeve's.
Which makes her frown, and then she's glad for the distraction of Adam handing her a necklace. Her brow furrows, and she looks up at him.] What for?
[Adam shrugs slightly and jerks his head at a plaque bearing all the descriptions.] It's stands for Eternity. Something that always comes back to itself. Also it can be symbolic of anything, it says. It can mean whatever you want it to mean. It felt right. [It may sound insulting, but the idea seems to fit Blue in an abstract sense. Not that others manipulate her for their purpose, but that Blue herself is mutable. That she could be whatever she wanted to.
He shrugs again and looks at where she's at.]
I can ask you the same thing about what you're doing.
[Her eyes go a little wider, and she looks at the necklace again, closing her hand around it.] That's... perfect. Thank you. [She looks back to Adam, and then at the books she's prodding at.
Blue shrugs] Looking. Wondering. Running into old names. [She points at the spine of a book, then heads away from the section.]
[Adam lingers, and the same sensation Blue felt overcomes him when he reads the name. Neeve Sargent. She's still around out there, somewhere. In the ether, or just unseen, and it unnerves Adam just a bit. Quickly, he follows Blue, trying to get the feeling off of him.]
[Blue's over at the oils, looking for one she liked, but overwhelmed by too many sample containers having leaked because of uncaring or unsteady hands. It's peppermint-sandalwood-lavender-patchouli and it makes her head hurt.] What else do you need? [The question is directed at Adam, across the store, since they were the only two in there for customers.]
What is it you're doing? I might be able to help. [The shop owner chimes in, a warm smile at both of them as Blue comes back over to the counter.
She sets a bottle of oil and the pendant Adam picked out for her. She hadn't been planning on buying it, but she had enough saved that she could get it. It was kind of too perfect.] Crystal meditation, right? [She smiles at Adam, then looks back at Alaina] Calla told me to remind you of our discount.
[Alaina laughs, and nods] Of course she did. Tell her I said hello back.
Yeah. [He nods at Blue's question and waits politely for her to be rung up before Adam takes his own turn. With a small 'thank you', he turns and heads out of the shop, waiting on Blue.] That was...fragrant.
[She follows after, chattering quickly, politely, but shortly with the owner, not feeling like recounting the issues at Fox Way. She was a family acquaintance, not friend.
She heads to where Adam is, and smirks.] We're going to smell like that place for hours. I think she's lost her sense of smell, or she'd open a window. [Blue heads to the car and unlocks it] Get what you wanted?
[He looks in the bag, at the stones intermingled with pendants. The feeling's weaker now that he isn't absolutely surrounded by it, but the feeling of importance is still there. Later he'll have to ask Cabeswater why. He nods at her question, though, as he gets in the car with her.] Hungry?
[She nods herself, pulling on her seatbelt and rechecking mirrors before stashing her things in the foot well of the seat behind her.] I am. I think all they have here is Applebee's, though.
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[Adam laughs.] Ten miles under isn't the speed limit.
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[Blue scowls] The speed limit is the maximum speed you should be doing, Adam.
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[Adam laughs.] You know, they can pull you over for going too slow, too.
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I'm not going that slow! [Her voice is a loud objection. She wasn't going that slowly. Just above granny pace now.]
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It's some time later that they finally make it out to their destination. It's a little unassuming shop and Adam follows Blue in, almost overwhelmed by the smells coming from the place. It's as if it was dipped in every fragrant herb known to man.]
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Here we are.
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And then he understands. This isn't a place of power, per se. But the items, the energy. There's potential here.]
I think...I think it's more than just symbolic.
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Everything is less symbolic on the ley line, I think. Energy is a physical entity here, instead of a concept like it is everywhere else.
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[He knows its why they stay, so he doesn't ask about that. Instead he moves on from the pendants, instead grabbing the first book he comes across before heading over to where Blue is.]
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[She prods through the quartz, no intention of getting anything, just looking for the one that drew her the most.] What're you looking for? Made any decisions yet?
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[Adam isn't even touching, his mind darting back and forth between the myriad shapes and colors laid out, each one giving off a different feeling, each one calling out to him. A part of him wants to scoop the entire shelf, because this has use. It'll be important when...when. He feels the tangle of vine and branch against his skin, and for once it isn't a comfort, or a reminder to do his job. It's something else.
Eventually he settles on what seems the strongest out of all of them calling, and at prices that aren't insane: A few smoky quartz, amethyst, jasper, tiger's eye, and clear quartz. He doesn't even know if this will help with his own problems, but they feel right. He doesn't question it.]
I think these ones should do.
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[She watches him, getting that other feeling from him that he gets when Cabeswater is prodding at him. He seems to be able to flit back and forth better than before. Without switchblades coming into play.] That was quick. [She pulls her phone out of her pocket] We've got another forty-five minutes before we need to head back.
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That one's for you.
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Which makes her frown, and then she's glad for the distraction of Adam handing her a necklace. Her brow furrows, and she looks up at him.] What for?
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He shrugs again and looks at where she's at.]
I can ask you the same thing about what you're doing.
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Blue shrugs] Looking. Wondering. Running into old names. [She points at the spine of a book, then heads away from the section.]
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She sets a bottle of oil and the pendant Adam picked out for her. She hadn't been planning on buying it, but she had enough saved that she could get it. It was kind of too perfect.] Crystal meditation, right? [She smiles at Adam, then looks back at Alaina] Calla told me to remind you of our discount.
[Alaina laughs, and nods] Of course she did. Tell her I said hello back.
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She heads to where Adam is, and smirks.] We're going to smell like that place for hours. I think she's lost her sense of smell, or she'd open a window. [Blue heads to the car and unlocks it] Get what you wanted?
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